The Werewolf Essay
by RiddikulusWaterbender
Summary: Lily's essay helps her become close friends with Remus.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.**

_Werewolves?_ Lily looked at the piece of parchment that was handed to her. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts class and the teacher was passing out their topics on a piece of parchment. The students were supposed to study about the topic and for bonus points, interview people who know about the subject. She really wanted those bonus points but she had no idea who to interview. Her parents were muggles so they couldn't waltz to the Werewolf Support Services or the Werewolf Capture Unit and interview them without help. She also couldn't go to the Ministry of Magic or any other wizarding buildings because they had no idea where it is. Maybe all hope was lost.

_Or- maybe not,_ she thought to herself as she spotted Remus a few spots ahead of her. He was the only one in the class who was reading while everyone else was talking and waiting for the bell to ring. Lily already had suspicions about whether he was a werewolf or not because, now that Severus had pointed it out to her, something _was_ fishy about him. She was the only one, other than Sirius, James, and Peter, who actually noticed his monthly absences. She didn't want to poke in any further because it was his business, not hers. Plus, what if she was wrong? That would be awkward.

The bell rang and it was time for lunch. After getting a quick meal, she headed for the library so that she could start researching. She reached the library and headed for the magical creatures section. Once there, she spotted a good-sized book on werewolves and brought it with her to an empty table.

After spending a few minutes reading, she checked out the book and got ready for the next lesson. As she walked down the hallways, she started to wonder. Since there wasn't any other possible werewolf anywhere near here, she'll just have to find out whether Remus is one or not. She had checked her moon charts from Astronomy and found out the full moon was three days away. If he was indeed a werewolf, then he would show all the correct symptoms. All she had to do was watch and wait.

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She did see a change in Remus. Lily noticed that as the days went by, his skin became slightly paler than usual. No one else seemed to notice. He also seemed slightly nervous. Then there was the day of the full moon. He was quieter than usual and barely looked up from his books. Lily understood how no one else would have noticed these actions. You would have to _really_ know how he's like to realize that he doesn't spend that much time reading and he wasn't _that_ quiet.

That evening, Lily was sitting in one of the seats in front of the fire along with her friends who were happily chatting away. She heard the boy's dormitory door open so she looked around. It was Remus, and he was going toward the portrait hole. Lily excused herself from her friends and caught up with him.

"Hey, Remus," Remus stopped and turned around at the sound of her voice.

"Yes?" He said as he half-smiled.

"Er, just thought I should check up on you."

"Oh."

Lily thought about what to say next.

"So, where are you going? You don't look too well."

"I just got an owl from my dad telling me my mum is really ill." There was anxiety etched on his face. "I'm kind of in a hurry."

"Oh. Sorry for keeping you. I hope your mum gets better." He nodded to her and said thanks while he exited the portrait hole. Then she headed up to her dormitory room and thought about what had just happened. She figured he was lying to her but maybe that was because he didn't want her to know about his lycanthropy- that is, _if_ he was a werewolf. He must have a place to go outside of Hogwarts so he won't endanger the other students- _if_ he was a werewolf. But what if he wasn't lying? His mother could actually be ill and he could actually be going to see her. Sometimes that happens with students whose parents or relatives are ill.

If he _was_ a werewolf, will that change her feelings about him? _Not really,_ she said in her head. _He's still a nice person._ It would be rather cruel to quit being his friend just because of some problem. She wouldn't care. With this in mind, she got ready for bed early. She still didn't have enough information to declare that he was a lycanthrope, but she was too tired to investigate further. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

**Please review! It boosts my confidence and makes me more likely to post the next chapter soon! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

Lily woke up earlier than her roommates, as usual, and got out of bed. After making her bed, she showered, got dressed, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair. Instead of staying in her dormitory, she made her way downstairs to the common room and lay down on a couch. Minutes later, she heard voices coming from the boys' dormitories. James, Sirius, and Peter were rushing out of their room. She must not have been visible because they didn't notice her as they went by. Good. She'll be able to find out what they're up to, since they were such troublemakers, and then she'll alert the teachers.

She found out she was wrong. They didn't look like they were plotting a prank or something. In fact, they looked worried. She caught words like "Hospital Wing" and "Hope he's okay".

Before she got up to ask what's wrong, they had already disappeared through the portrait hole. Were they talking about Remus? Didn't they know his mum was the one who was "ill"? They were his closest friends after all. Judging by the way they said "he" instead of "she" and "Hospital Wing" instead of "St. Mungo's", she guessed that Remus was the one who is ill, not his mum. Besides- if his mum was ill, then why would she be at the Hospital Wing? Plus, it was the day after the full moon. Could that be just a coincidence? She didn't think so.

It was time to test her last experiment. In the werewolf book she checked out, she had looked at the aftereffects of a transformation. She read that since the transformation is always painful then the person will show signs of exhaustion (perhaps from screaming too much). Plus, if the werewolf is by her/himself with nowhere to go and nothing to chase, she/he will usually attack her/himself, which means that they might have several new scars. If Remus matched these descriptions, then all of the clues would be pointing to 'lycanthrope' and she would have to ask him if it's true. If not, she'll just forget about the whole thing and get no extra credit.  
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On the day after the full moon, Lily caught a glimpse of Remus as he headed up the stairs to his dormitory. He looked terrible. There were dark shadows under his eyes and he looked immensely tired. His robes were hanging loosely on him and his walking seemed somewhat painful to do. Perhaps stiff. She scanned her list of transformation aftereffects and he matched every one of them.

The next day, which was Saturday, Lily found Remus sitting near the lake staring into yet another thick fantasy book with a gloomy expression. He looked up when he saw her shadow.

"Can I sit down?"

Remus nodded and went back to his book as she sat down beside him. He looked better than yesterday but he still looked pale.

"Er, I actually came here to ask something." Remus calmly bookmarked his book and set it down.

"Yes?"

"You know the essay we're doing for Defense Against the Dark Arts?" He nodded. "Well, I'm researching this certain creature, and I needed a small amount of help." Remus didn't say anything so she went on. "So I checked out a book from the library and looked up stuff about these 'creatures'." She put air quotes around creatures because they were human- most of the time. "And I saw the characteristics of this certain 'creature'. I really wanted the extra credit so I needed someone who has experience on my topic." He nodded to show he understood. "I asked myself, 'Is there anyone I know who knows all about these 'creatures', or perhaps, _is_ this 'creature'?'" She could see a slight hint of fear and realization in his eyes. "So I did more research and found out that someone did have the symptoms of being this 'creature'." Remus was now staring at the grass looking like he was dreading what was coming next.

"Remus..." she softened her voice. "You're a werewolf aren't you?"

**Author's Note: Oh noes! What will Remus do? How will he take it? What will happen next? Only one way to find out! REVIEW! Who knows, I might post the next chapter sooner. O_o**


	3. Chapter 3

**Side Note: Thank people who commented. "Before you read the next chapter, I would like to thank **_**Mercurywrites**_**, **_**Starlight1746**_**, and **_**clovetf**_** for commenting. I was thinking about giving up on this story but you three kept me going!"**

**Oh yeah, sorry for taking so long to update. Busy busy busy! I'll try to update faster.**

Remus looked at her for a while, not surprised at all about what she had just said. He knew since first year that it was only a matter of time until she found out. She was a clever and curious girl and if she wanted to do something, nothing would stop her from completing her goal.

Remus gave a small, tired sigh and slightly nodded. Lily expected this, of course, but she had always hoped she was wrong. Clearly, she was not.

Her shock must have shown on her face because Remus quickly said "Don't feel sorry. I'm used to it..." He started to look at the ground, his eyebrows furrowed and rubbing a fresh scar on his hand. Remus wasn't used to it yet, even after all this time, but he just said that so Lily won't dote on him or something.

He could see the burning curiosity in her green eyes. The way she looked at him was clearly asking "What happened?", but he knew she was too afraid to ask him.

"It's not a day I'd like to remember." He took a deep breath through his nose and continued. "Do you know who Fenrir Greyback is?"

"No..." Lily answered slowly.

"He's the most dangerous, feared werewolf in the world." He hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "He was the one who bit me."

Lily, horrified, didn't say anything. She feared that if she interrupted, he would stop. Remus hugged his knees to his chest and stared at the lake as he talked.

"I remember having this huge fascination over magical creatures. I had read about mooncalves and I really wanted to see them with my own eyes. So Greyback lured me outside one night and by the time my parents found me, it already happened." He pulled a dry leaf out of grass with one hand and crushed it.

"I should have known they didn't live near home." He muttered bitterly to himself.

Lily was still confused.

"But I don't understand how he bit you, of all people-?"

"Let's just say it was an act of vengeance. Not for me, but for my father." Lily gave him a questioning look as he stared at the leaf bits falling to the ground. "He insulted Greyback. I guess he wanted my father's only son's life to be ruined. Ever since I was bitten, I've always felt sorry him because I thought he couldn't control himself. So you could imagine how I felt when I found out he did it on purpose." He had a sad look in his eyes. "No one talked to me anymore. I had a few friends, but the moment their parents heard about what I became, they kept their children away from me. I thought that the people in my neighborhood were kind until I experienced their cruelty to half-breeds like me." Closing his eyes, he continued. "They made me feel so awful that I gave up on socializing with people and rarely came out of the house.

"So, my family moved to a place without many people around and started a new life." He ended this simply with a faint smile directed at Lily, but stared out at the lake with a gloomy expression again.

It must have been tough for him to tell his story to Lily. In all the years that she had known him, she never really knew much about his tragic past. It pained her to think that this boy had been cursed at such a young age and experienced intense pain transforming into a savage blood-thirsty beast every month.

Dumbledore must have known about his lycanthropy, but he still allowed Remus to go to Hogwarts. Her respect for the headmaster increased greatly as she thought about all the kind things Dumbledore did for his students. He helped Remus get a good education and actually have friends that didn't desert him. She was determined to be put on that friend list.

"But- why are you telling me all this?" Lily asked Remus.

"Because I trust you not to go blab about it all over the school like any other jerk."

Lily was quite touched when he told her that. There was a small pause as she smiled at the ground.

"You... won't tell will you?" He asked her quietly.

Lily, of course, would never tell anyone. Still, she wanted to do something that might change people's opinion about werewolves so that people like Remus would not be afraid to yell out to the world that they are werewolves. She would just start small for now, but maybe when she got older, she could really help.

"Of course not."

**A/N: It's not over yet! I intend to write Lily's essay, but since I'm no good at essays, this will take longer than usual. So... how was it? Was it too detailed, stupid, boring, vague? Please tell me! I want people to show me how I can improve my writing so don't be afraid to critique (is that how you spell it?) my work!**


	4. Chapter 4

**To tell you the truth, the reason why I take so long to publish chapters is because I'm busy, and I'm also losing interest in this story. I'm still willing to finish this story because I hate it when I'm reading a good chapter story, and then the author says that she/he is giving up on the story. I'm all "Noooeesss! I want to know what happens!"**

**So for those readers out there, this is for you guys! :)**

**Enjoy! (I decided to make the essay short. It's in italics)**

**:**

The due date arrived and Lily was prepared. She had worked up a good amount of information about werewolves and added something else to it. She knew most of the students in the classroom were prejudiced against werewolves so she hoped her essay would change at least some opinions. She glanced at Remus and hoped he would like it.

All of the students were paying attention when classmates got up to read their essays. Lily was itching to read hers but she knew she had to wait. She privately asked the teacher if she could read her essay last before the bell rang. She figured her classmates would think more about it since it would be the last thing on their minds before the next class.

When Lily's name was finally called, she determinedly marched to the front of the classroom.

She cleared her throat and said "My topic is on werewolves."

She noticed James, Sirius, and peter exchanged worried glances at Remus but he just mildly smiled back at them and gave them a small wave.

:

_The name 'werewolf' comes from Old English. _Wer_, as in man, and _wulf_. Another word for them would be lycanthropy. Werewolves have been treated with fear and disgust in the wizarding world. They spread lycanthropy around by biting their victims in their wolf forms. This doesn't mean that werewolves in their human form are always evil just because of what they turn into every month. This essay will show you the differences between werewolves in their wolf form and in their human form, and also on how they are treated._

:

She finished her introduction paragraph and peered over her essay paper. The classmates already had disgusted looks on their faces. Their parents obviously told them all about how evil werewolves are. Hopefully, Lily will change at least some of their minds at the end of the essay.

:

_Werewolves are highly dangerous in their wolf form. The werewolves lose their human minds when they transform, making them unable to recognize people they usually would be familiar with. Humans are their regular victims. They tend to go for the nearest human, even if the human is a friend. Huge and bloodthirsty, the werewolf is a ferocious fighter and they can kill their human victims if they take it too far. If a human survives a werewolf attack, he or she is infected forever. Lycanthropy is not hereditary, but it is caused by infection. Werewolves enjoy the open spaces, which is why they hate being alone. If left alone without animals or humans to keep them busy, they attack themselves. The werewolf differs from the regular wolf in many ways..._

:

The students were hanging on to her every word. Even James and Sirius, who would usually be trying to distract her when she is in front of the class, were paying attention. She finished listing the differences between werewolves and regular wolves and moved to the second body paragraph.

:

_Werewolves in their human form act very differently than how they act in the wolf form. While the werewolf is savage, the humans aren't always so. Around the time of the full moon, they become ill. They often bear scars from self injuries and have premature aging. Silver doesn't hurt them, contrasting them from the muggle mythology of werewolves. Even though they aren't dangerous in their human form, people are still afraid to go near them. The most absurd excuse I have heard was that the werewolf might eat them. Werewolves are not cannibals! They don't eat other people when they are human!_

:

She tried her best to provide information about werewolf characteristics, but still keep the students from discovering Remus's secret. It looked like it worked because none of the students showed recognition on their faces or shot looks at Remus. She continued her paragraph.

:

_Some witches and wizards don't realize that they are as normal as regular human beings. Since they believe werewolves are beasts all the time, lycanthropes are feared and treated like dirt. Such prejudice prevents werewolves from living a good life and forces them to live in poverty. They are unable to get jobs, find homes, getting food, and interacting with other people. Some werewolves, like Fenrir Greyback, hate uninfected humans because of how they treat werewolves. Even so, witches and wizards hate werewolves for something they can't even control. What if they were infected? How would _they_ feel if people treated them like dirt? They should try stepping into a werewolf's shoes for once._

:

She noticed some of the classmates nodding their heads and looking concerned. Still, there were others who looked like they didn't care, as long as they weren't infected. Just wait. Karma will get back at them. She moved on to her conclusion paragraph.

:

_If uninfected witches and wizards treat werewolves like dirt all the time, they are no better than the monsters that they think werewolves are. Look at their personality before assuming that werewolves are evil, because believe it or not, every single werewolf is not evil. I met a werewolf before and he was one of the kindest people I have ever met. This shows that it is unfair to judge people wrongly because they are different. I hope I changed your opinions about werewolves. If you still don't care, then it just proves how heartless you are._

:

A triumphant Lily thought this was an excellent way to finish her essay. Make them feel guilty if their opinions didn't change. She didn't care if some of the students hated her for her opinions. She has her opinions, they have theirs.

She calmly walked up to the teacher's desk and handed him the paper. She walked across the classroom to her seat, passing Remus. He gave her a grateful smile as she passed and she smiled back. Other students shot her dirty looks as the passed them, so she just ignored them. Sitting in her seat, the clasped her hands and waited for the teacher to finish telling the class what they would do tomorrow.

When the teacher was done, the bell rang and the students got out of their seats. Some students walked over to Lily.

"Wow, Lily," one of them said. "That essay was something."

"Very convincing!"

"It changed my views on werewolves."

"I've realized how stupid my parents sounded when they told me about werewolves."

Lily was blushing and said "Thank you". She didn't expect this much attention from the students, but she was grateful just the same. At least she did something to erase prejudices from several minds.

Meanwhile, she saw that James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus were preparing to leave the classroom together. She was surprised, however, when she saw Remus say something to his friends and walk over to her. They made kissy faces at him and he glared at them before turning to Lily.

"That was nice, what you just did." Lily didn't respond. Remus's cheeks were tinged with red as he looked at the ground. "Thanks."

"No problem." Lily said, smiling at him. Remus looked up and gave her a timid smile, his cheeks still red. Yep, that was Remus being bashful.

"Awwww!" James and Sirius appeared out of nowhere and placed their arms around Remus. "Looks like Remy fancies Lily!" Remus quickly shook his head at Lily before they pinched his cheeks.

"Guys don't-" They started hugging him while he struggled to escape.

"Soooo cute!"

"No really, I'm not-"

"Teeheehahaha!"

Lily watched as the two boys dragged the still complaining Remus out of the classroom. She smiled after them. She was glad that she helped Remus in some way. Maybe in the future, she could perhaps go into a position in the wizarding government. Then she would make laws that would help werewolves live better lives. Then there might not be many werewolves hating uninfected witches and wizards because of how they were treated.

From that day on, Lily and Remus were close friends. They would study together, she would help him with potions, and he would help her with Defense Against the Dark Arts. They spent time together when their other friends were doing something else, and they enjoyed each other's company.

All because of the essay.

:

THE END

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**A/N: Well, I'm finally finished! I got most of my information from wikia. Like I said before, I have a really hard time when it comes to essays so if you didn't like it, you can pretend it wasn't there or something.**

**Out of all of the chapters of this story, this one was my favorite. Not because it's the end chapter, but because I am happy at how this worked out. I wish I could redo the other chapters though.**

**And no**_**, **_**Remus does **_**not**_** have feelings for Lily. He's just flattered that Lily did this for him and it is going to stay that way. Don't forget, I hate romance, especially if it isn't right according to the book.**

**I hope you liked this story. :)**


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